


Dowager Queens

by Kissed_by_Circe



Category: The Tudors (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Henry dies a lot earlier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23379691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kissed_by_Circe/pseuds/Kissed_by_Circe
Summary: Five times where history took a different road after Henry's death, and one where nothing changed.
Relationships: Anne Boleyn/Henry VIII of England, Anne of Cleves/Henry VIII of England, Catherine of Aragon/Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII of England/Catherine Parr, Henry VIII of England/Jane Seymour, Henry VIII of England/Katherine Howard
Comments: 6
Kudos: 88





	Dowager Queens

i.

May 1533

The sickness takes him before they can even send for the children, and so it is only Catherine who is by his side during his last moments, clutching his hand in hers, kneeling at his bedside despite the ache in her knees. She has spent the last days nursing him like a dutiful wife, or praying in the chapel that their sons will arrive in time to see their father one last time, but it is all in vain. Henry dies, and Catherine remains as stoic as she always has. When Hal arrives at last, she holds her head high and bows before the new king, and she is already planning his coronation in her head. It will be a magnificent affair – Hal is as tall and handsome as his father and his queen is heavy with child. She misses Mary, but her daughter is happy with her princely husband, and the Italian weather seems to be good for her health, and she still has Ferdinand, who refuses to leave her side during this trying time. She may no longer be a queen, but maybe being a queen mother isn’t so bad either.

ii.

May 1536

Anne is pregnant when he falls from his horse and breaks his neck, and she almost looses the child, but somehow, god has mercy on her. The first few months are full of insecurity. She prays that she will have a son at least, for if she does, then not even her stepdaughter can contest her children’s place. When she gives birth to another girl, she is prepared, and little Margaret is not yet christened when Elizabeth is proclaimed queen, and George installed as her regent. They have to fight, and sometimes Anne is tired enough to think about giving up, but in the end, they succeed. Her daughters marry French princes, and when Elizabeth gives England a son and heir, Anne smiles and proposes to call him Richard, or John, or Arthur, or even Owen – anything but Henry.

iii.

October 1537

Henry is wounded in the tournament that should’ve been a celebration, and he dies while she recovers. Childbirth has left Jane sickly; her frail form keeps trembling in the wind, and her heart keeps stuttering, worse than before, but still, she persists. She has a child now, a child at last, and she will raise it, she will live to see her son grow and thrive and rule. Her brother Ned becomes the regent, and she lets him rule, pulling the strings behind the curtain and quietly reigning in her own little way, bringing the Lady Mary back to court as her daughter, shaping the church and trying to lead it back to Rome, and leaving politics to her brother. She could remarry, she’s still young enough to have two or three more children, at last, but she knows that it’s not meant to be. Every time her heart flutters against the cage of her ribs she feels fear creeping up her back, feels its cold hands reaching for her, and so she is content raising her boy and the Grey girls and Lady Mary’s children.

iv.

July 1540

Her husband goes to war and doesn’t come back, and Anne is glad that she no longer has to share a bed with him and his rough hands and gross leg. There’s no longer the question of what might become of her if he tires of her, if he tried to get rid of her to take another wife, and she feels relieved. Her new home is still strange and foreign to her, but she has more freedom than she had back home, and when her brother sends for her and she returns to Germany, she looks back wistfully. Her home seems even more strict and restrictive than before, and she starts looking for a new husband soon enough, but she is more careful this time. In the end, she marries a Swedish noble, and becomes one of the most popular ladies at the Swedish court. They do not have children, but they are happy enough, and she is more content than she was with the king of England.

v.

November 1541

Her position would be better if she were with child, she thinks when she looks at the rotting corpse of the man that used to be her king and master, but it’s unlikely. Catherine hadn’t let him into her bed for weeks because of the stench, and the pain had eventually prevented him from even coming to her rooms. Now his leg has even taken his life, and she hopes that hers won’t suffer for it. She tries to do everything right – Ned Seymour becomes his nephew’s regent, and she tries to make him her ally. She arranges a marriage for the Lady Mary, an advantageous match, but not too risqué, to an Italian duke that takes her away from court, and learns who she can trust and who she has to be careful around. While little Edward plays at being king, she starts doting on Elizabeth even more, overseeing her education, arranging a match with a French duke’s second son, and by the time the little king dies, she has enough power to put her stepdaughter on the throne. They stop calling her the queen after his death, but her daughter wears a crown, and that’s all that matters.

vi.

January 1547

Nothing changes for Catherine.


End file.
